SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- Operating profit of Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone supplier, is expected to reach over 7 trillion won (US$6.2 billion) in the third quarter amid better-than-expected sales of its latest smartphone Galaxy S3, reports said Sunday.

Outlook reports by local securities firms expected Samsung's third quarter operating profit to reach 7.5 trillion won, up 78 percent from the same period last year, with its quarterly sales rising 24.5 percent to 51.37 trillion won.